ISET Economist Blog

23 May 2014

Maka Chitanava, Norberto Pignatti, Karine Torosyan

Georgian Shadow Economy – its Past and its Legacy

The existence of a sizeable shadow (or second, informal) economy in the USSR was and is well-known. The Soviet era was characterized by a very rigid formal system with a high level of bureaucratization and inefficient planning. This resulted in many problems, both in terms of production and consumption. Soviet consumers experienced constant frustration and dissatisfaction caused by endlessly searching for goods and services they demanded, the need to queue for them without any guarantee of getting what they wanted, and the risk of having instead to accept a lower quality version or even to postpone (sometimes indefinitely) the purchase altogether (Kornai 1992).

19 May 2014

Florian Biermann

Becoming Rich Delayed

During my morning shower, I like to think about Georgia’s economic prospects and how the country should develop.

16 May 2014

Guenther Baechler

Towards a Globalized Peasant Agriculture

In my essay on economic development (“What worked”, MESSENGER, July 3/2013) I cited the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on “A New Global Partnership” (UN Publications, 2013) that aims at eradicating absolute poverty and transforming national economies through sustainable development. Thus, in the chapter on “goals and global impact,” the Panel stresses that poverty must be reduced while mitigating global climate change and promoting a “low-carbon trajectory”.

12 May 2014

Giorgi Tsutskiridze

Removing Educational Bottlenecks

Speaking with managers of companies operating in Georgia, one frequently hears complaints about a lack of certain specialists in the Georgian labor market. For instance, firms operating in the construction sector are often forced to hire foreign experts, as they do not find sufficiently qualified engineers and architects in Georgia. The shortage is particularly pressing in technical subjects and the sciences.

09 May 2014

Maka Chitanava

Economic Reasons for the Breakup of Georgia

In the 15th century, the Kingdom of Georgia started a painful process of disintegration from which it did not recover until the modern era, and ultimately, Georgia’s breakup at the end of the medieval age accounts for the regrettable fact that the country could not maintain its status as an independent nation (Florian Biermann and I discussed the cataclysmic Treaty of Georgievsk in our article about King Erekle II).

05 May 2014

Olga Azhgibetseva, Yaroslava Babych

The Mystery of the Russian Economy (Part 2)

For a long time, Russia was seen as the land of opportunity for foreign investors. The allure of the country with a large population, vast natural resources, and more importantly, a large middle class willing to spend money, was irresistible. The burgeoning economy, however, held a few secrets which threatened to derail investors’ hopes.

ISET Economist Blog

A blog about economics in the South Caucasus financed within the institutional grant by the Government of Sweden.